After three hours of LotR last night, me and my mates were all afflicted with that peculiar gait that identifies hardened cinema-goers and long distance flyers.

To my mind, it's about time that all cinema (and aircraft) seats were equipped with a trap-door in the bottom. Teams of badly paid,
part-time students could then be employed to slide along the floor under the seats (perhaps using those little trolleys that car mechanics use), open up the trap door and give your buttocks a relieving massage whilst you are watching the film.

Maybe they could have relieving electronic massage
machines built into all the cushions on the bottoms and
backs of the seats. I only say this because I would not
want a stranger massaging my arse in a dark theatre.

". . . I would not want a stranger massaging my arse in a dark theatre . . ." (jimithing)

I've been to "theaters" like that (uh, accidentally, or something). And they don't play "Lord of the Rings" type movies. More like "Lords of the Cock Rings."

Just to avoid confusion with THAT type of "theater," I endorse the electronic option.

Besides, the car-creeper method of transit for human massagers would never work. The wheels would stick to the floors and the creeper would be banging into empty soda cups and popcorn troughs (at least in my experience, children and some adults are really obnoxious about casting their refuse around the theater).

Then theres the whole problem of running into people's ankles.

//unrelated// I really, really, really want to have a theater where (1) liquor is served, (2) nobody under 21 is allowed, ever (3) No airplane seats, just big comfy chairs and barstools (4) smoking is allowed. What the heck, why not just show movies in bars? I know in the US the laws are rather strict regarding movie theaters, but surely there must be some way of presenting a business that is primarily a bar but just happens to also show movies, so that it doesn't encounter those restrictions.

You obviously haven't sat through the original StarWars trilogy in one go, or done a Mad Max nightshift, jimithing. After that, you'd be glad to have anyone (or anything) tending to your glutious maximus. I went for students rather than electronics because a) a vibrating chair would make an annoying humming sound and distract from the film and b) students are cheap and will do anything for money.

Just watch all your movies in DVD stores. You can come and go as you want, stand up or sit on the floor (though staff might get a little perturbed), walk around if you're bored.

There's a cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Cameo, that's fully licensed, so you can take your drinks into the auditorium. I think if people went back and forth to the bar during the show that would be classed as unacceptably annoying, and there's also the risk of people needing to go to the toilet more often. Although all that extra walking would alleviate the buttock pain, thus proving this anno isn't completely off-topic.

There is such a place in (north) Seattle called The Cinema Grill. Comfortable chairs and tables with a waitstaff. No smoking, though. I tried it once, it was okay. The movies are not first-run, though. Sort'a second run faire. (In this case it was "Autumn in New York," blah).

What po says: videos were invented so that those who don't like to watch films in the awesome atmosphere of a hushed auditorium can see them at home, stack the beers by their sofa, smoke anything they want to, and go to the toilet as often as they like. (Although I knew one cinema in Leeds where everyone went along to the late night double bills with bongs and carryouts.)

quarterbaker: Where do you live? In Brooklyn, there's Ocularis, where you can bring in drinks from the adjoining bar & enjoy a smoke. Chairs aren't so comfy, though. In San Francisco, the Castro Theater's pretty legendary for loungy sofa-viewing. But since it's in California, you probably can't smoke or drink.

In the 1980's I lived in the Bronx, where doing whatever you like at the movies appears to be (or have been) the norm. In the summertime, families would spend the entire day at the theater just for the air conditioning. People smoking pot; selling watches, drugs, what-have-you; children urinating in the aisles - everything! I once saw a guy with a portable TV watching a baseball game at the movies. Those theaters never seemed to show anything but grade Z slasher flicks anyway, so it didn't really matter...

I live in the middle of nowhere, USA. I don't go to theaters very often. Watch most things on video. I'll have to look for a bar/theater next time I travel to a metropolitan area. It might be quite a while, though, and I'll probably forget by then. Of course, my first thought when going to a large city is usually "hey, I should get laid," and not "hey, I could go watch a movie and get drunk." Though the latter is usually what happens. Damn I'm pathetic.

Quarterbaker: I live in the middle of nowhere, USA, too.
Although I do live about 10 minutes away from a
good-sized city. Within this city, there is a "cinema grill,"
so called, because you eat while you watch a movie. You
show up before the movie, waitresses take your order,
you get your food, and the movie starts. I've never been
there, but I heard it's a nice place to go to. I don't know
if alcohol is served or not, but I suspect it is.

DrBob: You're right, I'm not a big movie-goer. But, being
a student, I wouldn't want my peers massaging my arse
either. Maybe we can combine forces and come up with
a completely silent robot, not offended at all by the
sticky floor and garbage, who would re-instate life into
dead legs and butts with a nice massage. Maybe there
can be a button on the seat which, when you press, the
robot comes to you. If you don't press it, the robot won't
come?

On the massager - electric massagers don't have to vibrate. There are so-called "shiatsu" type massagers that have moving bumps under a flexible skin. They're actually quite nice, though technically not shiatsu. Could easily build these into seats, for maybe $150 - 200 USD.

Three and a half hours of 'Return of the King' and the torture of my backside is finally over. However my glutious maximus has now been reduced to a glutious minimus. Where were all the students when I needed them?

I live right next to a brilliant little old cinema with great big, comfy seats (the toilets are in a vaulted cellar too). It also sells beer in bottles or glasses. No smoking though, natch.

It ran a special triple feature of LOTR showing which started on Tuesday at 6pm-ish. This meant that the new LOTR started at 1 minute past midnight, i.e. 00:01 on Wednesday. Loads of people went. Not me. Numb bum hell.

We have three screen complex in Istanbul playing first run movies, (Just wacthed Troy) Where you can sit on a sofa, drink, eat if you are sitting on glass saperated VIP lounge. Smoke and service can not disturb the others because of the glass separation. Rest of the theather is reclining seats. The massage...., I will recommend them since you all asked for it. Here is some pictures; http://www.afm.com.tr/SinemaDetay.Aspx?SinemaId=11